(KTLA) — If you just got a letter from the IRS, don’t just throw it away. You might be eligible for extra money.
In the middle of October, the tax agency said it would start sending letters to more than 9 million people who may be eligible for thousands of dollars in tax credits and stimulus payments.
The Treasury’s Office of Tax Analysis found the names of the people who might have gotten the letters. Most of the time, these people don’t have to file taxes because they don’t make much money.
The IRS said that some Americans can still get money from the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the Earned Income Tax Credit.
The #IRS Nationwide Tax Forums Online has courses available to #TaxPros for continuing education credits. https://t.co/7eNMionDNk pic.twitter.com/nhUkCVx1H6
— IRS Tax Pros (@IRStaxpros) October 31, 2022
People can use Free File to claim their tax benefits until November 17. The software is free and can be found on the IRS website until the deadline in the middle of November.
The tax agency said that people who think they are eligible for these benefits but haven’t filed a 2021 tax return yet could do so on the Child Tax Credit website.
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During the pandemic, many Americans got stimulus payments to help them stay afloat financially. The IRS used tax returns to figure out who was eligible and where to send payments. However, the IRS said that millions of Americans didn’t get these payments either.
These letters are like the ones that were sent out in September 2020 to encourage people who didn’t file taxes to do so so they could get the first stimulus payment, called the Economic Impact Payment.
Check your mail twice to make sure you don’t miss these payments.
Nov. 17 Deadline
This year, IRS Free File will be open an extra month, until Nov. 17, to help people get their benefits. Free File lets people with incomes of $73,000 or less file a tax return online for free at IRS.gov/freefile.
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People can also file a 2021 tax return at ChildTaxCredit.gov. People with incomes of less than $12,500 and couples with incomes of less than $25,000 may be able to file a simple tax return to get the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit and the Child Tax Credit. This credit covers any missed stimulus payments from 2021.
Who is the Mail Going to?
The IRS said that the Treasury’s Office of Tax Analysis found 9 million people who don’t have to file taxes because they make too little money. Most single taxpayers under the age of 65 don’t have to file a tax return if they make less than $12,550 a year. For single people over the age of 65, that number goes up to $14,250.
What Kinds of Credits Are There?
People who got the letters might be eligible for one or more of the following tax credits:
The Credit for Recovery in 2021
The tax credit for children
Earned Income Tax Credit
What is the Credit for Recovery in 2021?
This is the official name of the third round of stimulus checks that lawmakers approved during the pandemic. Each eligible person can get up to $1,400, and qualifying children who are claimed on a tax return can also get money.
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So, if a family of four makes less than the limit for the program, they could get up to $5,600 in stimulus money. Under the law, single taxpayers who make less than $75,000 and married couples who make less than $150,000 can get the full amount.
#IRS is offering a free webinar called “Circular 230: Practicing “Inside the Lines” Throughout the Tax Engagement Lifecycle.” Register to join us on November 10 at 2 p.m. (ET): https://t.co/SmRsKbLeop pic.twitter.com/Bb0NN57JeL
— IRS Tax Pros (@IRStaxpros) November 4, 2022
People who make more than those amounts slowly stop getting payments.
What is the Tax Credit for Children?
The improved Child Tax Credit raised this benefit from $2,000 per child to as much as $3,600 per child in 2021. Before that, the benefit was only $2,000 per child. The purpose of the tax credit is to help parents pay for the costs of raising children.
For the last six months of 2021, the IRS sent checks to parents with eligible children. Each check was equal to half of the annual credit. The IRS said that families can claim the other half of the credit now, even if they will get monthly checks in the second half of 2021.
What is the Tax Credit for Earned Income?
The Earned Income Tax Credit, which has been around for decades and is meant to help low-income workers, was also increased by the American Rescue Plan of 2021. Before the law, workers without children between the ages of 25 and 64 could only get up to $538. With the pandemic law, that amount went up to $1,502.
The law also raised the amount that working families with children can claim. Now, parents with three children can get as much as $6,728.
Thinking about growing your family? The maximum adoption credit allowed for of qualified expenses for 2023 is up to $15,950. Learn more from #IRS on tax inflation adjustments at https://t.co/PzPEog7r1B #NationalAdoptionMonth pic.twitter.com/iHYDLQtglN
— IRSnews (@IRSnews) November 4, 2022
Most people can get the EITC if their income is less than $21,430 if they are single or $27,380 if they are married and filing jointly.
How Do I Get These Things?
People who think they are eligible for tax credits but haven’t filed a tax return are being told by the IRS to do so, even if they haven’t received a letter from the agency yet.
“The IRS wants to remind people that there is no penalty for claiming a tax refund on a tax return that is filed after April 2022,” the IRS said.
People can get the benefits in a few ways:
Use Free File to file a tax return before November 17, 2022. People who make less than $73,000 can use Free File.
Use GetCTC to file a simplified tax return for 2021 before November 15, 2022.
The IRS said that if people want their tax credits as soon as possible, they should file their tax forms electronically and choose direct deposit.
